Robert F. Rivers

Robert F. Rivers was elected chairman and CEO by Eastern Bank’s board of directors this week, the announced this morning.

Rivers joined Eastern Bank in 2006 as vice chairman and chief banking officer. He became president in 2007, COO in 2012 and an Eastern Bank director in 2016. This week, he succeeded former chairman and CEO Rich Holbrook, who retired at the end of the year. The board of directors also elected Quincy Miller as president. Both promotions were effective Jan. 1.

“In just 16 months, Eastern Bank will celebrate our 200th year in business as the United States’ oldest and largest mutual bank,” Rivers said in a statement. “While our leadership has changed over the years, our commitment to mutuality and the communities we serve remains the same. I look forward to building upon Rich Holbrook’s legacy and I’m grateful for the board’s confidence in me as we lead Eastern into our third century of business.”

A Stoughton native, Rivers began his banking career in 1982 as a teller while in college, joining the former Old Stone Bank in Providence upon graduation in 1986. From 1991 to 2005, he held a number of staff and line leadership positions at M&T Bank in Buffalo, New York. Prior to joining Eastern, he was executive vice president for retail banking at the former Commercial Federal Bank in Omaha, Nebraska.

Miller joined Eastern last year as vice chairman and chief banking officer. He began his banking career in 1997 at M&T Bank in New York, New York., and he worked in a number of leadership roles until 2006 when he joined Citizens Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. Before joining Eastern, he spent 10 years at Citizens, most recently as president of Citizens Bank, Massachusetts and president of its business banking division.